WHAT'S IN A NAME? PLENTY AT UNIVERSITY

BUILT FOR LEARNING: The building housing the Third District Normal School was built in 1875. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1902 and replaced by Academic Hall. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

All across the Southeast Missouri State University campus, there are signs of the institution's history in the names given to its buildings.

Five are named after past presidents of Southeast. Others are named for long-time and respected teachers. Still others are named for university benefactors.

Most are names from the past. But some of the individuals, for whom buildings are named, are still living.

In all, there are more than 20 structures or facilities at Southeast that are named after individuals associated with the school.

Aleen Vogel Wehking of Cape Girardeau is proud to have a campus building named after her.

The Wehking Alumni Center, located along North Sprigg in a former migrant center, was dedicated in 1987.

As campus buildings go, it is not a large structure. But that doesn't bother Wehking.

"My little building is just fine and they have repainted it not too long ago," she said.

"I think it's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me," said Wehking, a 1932 Southeast graduate who has been a generous supporter of the school over the years.

When it comes to financial benefactors, few can compete with Sikeston attorney Robert A. Dempster and his wife Lynn Dempster.

Lynn Dempster serves on the Board of Regents and Robert Dempster has been a leader in development of the university's foundation, the fund-raising arm of the school.

Dempster Hall, which houses business classes, is named in honor of Robert Dempster, who donated $100,000 for renovation of the former apartment building in the 300 block of North Pacific Street. The university began using the building for business classes in 1982.

Robert Dempster says he's honored to have a building named after him.

"Most of our people in this area go to school up there," said Dempster, explaining his strong support for the school.

"It's a good school. It takes care of the people in Southeast Missouri," he said.

Dempster's wife, Lynn, is also recognized on campus. An auditorium in the nursing building is named for her in recognition of another financial contribution from the Dempster family.

The Dempster name is expected to be more visible when a new business school is built on the Southeast campus.

Two years ago, Robert Dempster donated $1 million to help pay the local share for a new College of Business Administration building.

The university is currently seeking state funding to pay for the bulk of the cost of constructing the building.

Not far from the planned site for the new business school sits the Scully Building. It's named after Mark F. Scully, Southeast's 10th president. The education-psychology building was completed in 1971. It was renamed the Scully Building in May 1975, shortly before the then-president's retirement.

In an interview with the Southeast Missourian in 1990, Scully said that serving as the university's president was the highlight of his education career.

"I've often said I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything in the world and I wouldn't take it again for anything in the world," said Scully.

The oldest building on campus bearing the name of an individual is the Serena Building, named for Joseph A. Serena, the eighth president of Southeast. The building houses the industrial technology department.

Crisp Hall, which houses the institution's nursing classes, is named after Rosemary Berkel Crisp of Marion, Ill. Crisp and her husband, Harry L., donated a six-figure gift to the university for expansion and renovation of one of the university's oldest buildings.

The building was constructed in 1922 and originally housed the university's laboratory school. The expanded and renovated structure was dedicated in October 1988.

Houck Stadium was dedicated on Oct. 3, 1930. The adjacent Houck Field House was completed in February 1951. It replaced the original Houck Field House.

Completed in 1927, the original Houck Field House was destroyed by fire on Feb. 17, 1948.

Both the stadium and the second Houck Field House are still in use today.

The structures are named after Louis Houck, who was a longtime member of the university's Board of Regents. Houck served for 38 years on the board, from 1886 to his death in 1925. For 36 of those years, he was board president.

Cheney Hall is the oldest dormitory on the Southeast campus. Construction on the white limestone structure began in 1938 and was completed in 1939. The building is named for the school's first president, Lucius H. Cheney.

Kent Library is named after Sadie T. Kent, who served as the head librarian for more than three decades, from 1910 to 1943.

Work on the library began Sept. 21, 1938, and was completed in 1939. Before construction of the library building, the school's library was located in Academic Hall.

In 1968, work was completed on an addition, which enlarged the original facility five times. The addition encircled the original building on three sides. On the north or front side, a large screen was built that conceals the original front. The expanded library was dedicated in November 1968.

Myers Hall, originally a men's dormitory and now a residence hall for both sexes, was named in honor of Vest C. Myers, a former dean of the college. Myers died on Nov. 18, 1945. As a result of construction problems, the building took nearly three years to complete. The building was accepted by the Board of Regents in March 1950.

Another campus dormitory, Dearmont Quadrangle, opened its doors in 1960. On Jan. 3 of that year, the first women moved into the finished portion of the structure. By the fall of that year, the entire dormitory was in use. The building was named after Washington Strother Dearmont, who served as the university's president from 1899-1921.

The Parker Physical Education Building came on line in the fall of 1960. It's named for Walter W. Parker, who served as the school's president from 1933-1956.

Southeast's music building, Brandt Hall, opened in 1961. Thirteen years later, in 1974, it was named for J.C. Brandt who taught at Southeast for nearly four decades before retiring in 1957. He died on April 9, 1973.

Magill Hall of Science was formally dedicated on Oct. 12, 1961. The building is named in honor of Arthur C. Magill. He came to Southeast in 1909. He taught courses in chemistry for 43 years and during the last 28 of those years headed the science department.

The building was formally dedicated on his 80th birthday. He died in 1970.

H.O. Grauel Language Arts Building opened in the fall of 1966. It is named for Harold O. Grauel, an English professor and later department chairman who served on the university's faculty for 43 years. He retired in July 1971.

In 1970, the university's theater was officially named Rose Theatre in honor of Forrest H. Rose.

Rose, who died in 1969, was a longtime faculty member at Southeast. He joined the faculty in 1930 as a speech teacher and later served as head of the speech department. He was named the dean of the school in 1945, serving in that role until his death at the age of 69.

Johnson Hall, which houses math and computer science classes, is named for B.F. Johnson a member of the school's math faculty for more than four decades.

He came to the campus in 1898 to head the math department. Johnson died in 1941.

Johnson's daughter, Mary Johnson Tweedy of Brewster, N.Y. a 1935 graduate of Southeast made a donation of $560,000 to Southeast in 1980. It was reported at that time to be the largest single financial gift ever made to Southeast.

The money was used to construct a three-story addition to the original building. The original structure, known as the North Hall of Science, was built in 1962.

In September 1988, the Johnson Faculty Center was dedicated at Southeast. The center is housed in a more-than-century-old house at 530 N. Pacific. Tweedy gave $225,000 to the university to renovate the structure, which had been her childhood home.

Rhodes Hall of Science was dedicated on Dec. 3, 1983. It's named for Roger F. Rhodes, a 1927 graduate of Southeast. He was a retired Gideon farmer and businessman, who gave $300,000 to equip the science building. Rhodes was a major financial contributor and supporter of the university before his death last year.

Southeast's track and field complex was constructed in 1979. In 1986, it was named the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex.

It's named for Emmett R. "Abe" Stuber, a former Southeast coach, who died in 1989 at the age of 86. During his tenure at Southeast from 1932-46, Stuber's teams won 17 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles in football, track and basketball.

He went on to coach at several other colleges and at the professional level with the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and the Chicago Cardinals. When the Cardinals moved to St. Louis in 1960, he came with them as director of player personnel. In 1974, Stuber was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.